DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General

Good afternoon. The Secretary-General is in Sweden. His official visit to the country starts tomorrow morning, and we hope to have later in the day a tentative programme to share with you in our Office upstairs.

**Kosovo

Let's start with Kosovo. The exodus of refugees to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania is continuing with full force. More than 18,000 refugees crossed into the two countries during the three-day period Friday through Sunday. After 7,700 arrivals in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Saturday and 7,500 on Sunday, today looks like another bad day.

As expected, a train has arrived at Blace, in addition to the more than 15 buses which had arrived earlier today. The train has at least 15 carriages, according to the refugees on it. No estimates of numbers yet, but total will probably be similar or exceed yesterday's. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a wall of refugees walking to the border from the railhead. According to one refugee, the line stretches back one kilometre from the border.

The condition of arrivals is very poor. Many require medical attention. One man on a bus was beaten on the ride down when the bus was made to stop at a checkpoint. He apparently suffered a broken leg. The UNHCR said there were a lot of elderly people today, many requiring immediate attention.

More than 1,200 arrived in Albania, mostly women and children, as of late afternoon today. Most of them arrived on foot. In addition, among today's arrivals was a group of about 100 men who said they had been held prisoner inside Kosovo. From interviews with the men arriving in Albania over the weekend, the UNHCR reported that a consistent, terrifying story emerged.

The men had been part of a large group of Kosovars which was trying to flee from Kosovska Mitrovica area to Albania in mid-April. They talked about being held in a prison south-east of Mitrovica town, where they were held until their unexpected release on Saturday -- this last Saturday, 22 May. They said there were 2,000 to 3,000 men in the prison, but that around 50 men were, at one point, kept in a police station and then taken to the front line to be used as human shields. The men said they had not received any food during the first 50 hours of their captivity, and thereafter received mostly just bread and water. One

man said they were beaten when they ate. Others spoke of daily interrogations, beatings and torture. They said that early on Saturday, some names of prisoners were read out. They feared they would be taken out and shot. Instead, they were taken to the border area by bus and ordered to walk across.

The World Food Programme (WFP) fears that Albanian prisoners inside Kosovo may be suffering from severe malnutrition. The WFP says the men reportedly were eating only 200 grams or a quarter loaf of bread per day and look quite weak.

The United Nations Needs Assessment Mission, which completed a three-day visit to Kosovo and arrived in Montenegro on Sunday, reports that although it was not granted all changes to its itinerary that it requested, its members were able to make random, unscheduled stops and to change some destinations. Inside Kosovo, the team had split into two groups on Saturday and Sunday to visit as many sites as possible. They reported that they are confident that they have enough material for a valid, credible, initial assessment. They were able to see and to speak with internally displaced persons who told stories of shootings and atrocities. The team members said they saw burning houses. The team was assessing the needs inside Montenegro today and tomorrow, including visits to Kosovars who had fled their homes and sought refuge in the neighbouring Yugoslav republic. They are expected to arrive in Belgrade late Tuesday.

As had been announced late Friday, the Secretary-General met on Saturday with Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari in Sweden to discuss the Kosovo crisis. We have a transcript of their remarks and reports following that meeting. The transcript is available in the Spokesman's Office.

**East Timor

The Secretary-General's report on East Timor is out today. It's available on the racks. In the report, the Secretary-General proposes establishment of the United Nations Mission in East Timor, UNAMET, composed of 241 international staff, 420 United Nations Volunteers, up to 280 civilian police, as well as 4,000 local staff. The report reiterates that security in East Timor is the responsibility of the Indonesian authorities and that the local police are responsible for the maintenance of law and order. On the security situation, the report notes there are continued credible reports of political violence, including intimidation and killings by armed militias against unarmed pro- independence civilians. The report also has details on the modalities of the consultation process, and it also refers to the appointment of Ian Martin as Special Representative for East Timor, for the East Timor Popular Consultation and head of UNAMET. Ambassador Jamsheed Marker will continue to serve as the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for East Timor.

Still on East Timor, on deployments, I'd like to inform you that a cargo flight, carrying communications equipment and data processing equipment, has arrived in Dili from the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, along with nine technical personnel. That brings to 23 the total number of

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United Nations international staff in place in East Timor. Another cargo flight is being scheduled in the next few days.

**Haiti

Still on the Secretary General's reports, also to inform you that his report on the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) is out on the racks today. In addition to covering the activities of MIPONUH and developments in the Mission since the last report of February, this report also contains initial recommendations on a viable transition to other forms of international assistance for the consideration of the Security Council. In it, the Secretary-General said that the steps taken towards resolving the political crisis are encouraging. He calls on all relevant political actors in Haiti to participate constructively in the electoral process so as to ensure that the upcoming elections are fair, transparent and credible.

In a longer-term perspective, the Secretary-General said it's his firm belief that the Government of Haiti itself must prepare to assume full responsibility for the further strengthening and effective functioning of the Haitian National Police. A two-year technical assistance programme is currently being developed by the Haitian National Police, in consultation with the United Nations, to provide the police with the expertise to carry out training and institution-building after the termination of MIPONUH.

Statement on Colombia

I have a statement on Colombia, attributable to the Spokesman. "The Secretary-General condemns the kidnapping of Senator Piedad Cordoba de Castro. The Senator, a firm supporter of peace and President of the Colombian Senate's Commission on Human Rights, has performed invaluable work towards the achievement of fundamental rights and freedoms. The Secretary-General expresses his hope that she'll be released soon, and urges the Colombian authorities to do everything possible to this end." As you know, the Senator was kidnapped last Friday.

**Security Council

There is no Security Council meeting today and, so far, nothing has been scheduled for tomorrow, either.

**World Health Organization

We have a press release from the World Health Organization (WHO) on some key decisions taken by its Governing Council in Geneva. They have paved the way for multilateral negotiations to begin on a set of rules and regulations that will govern the global rise and spread of tobacco and tobacco products in the next century. The WHO said it was the first time in its 50-year history that it was exercising its constitutional mandate to negotiate a convention.

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According to the press release, tobacco kills 4 million people per year. The Tobacco Free Initiative, WHO's tobacco control programme, estimates that, if unchecked, this silent epidemic could kill 10 million people per year in the first quarter of the next century, over 70 per cent of them in the developing world. In its plenary session earlier today, the Governing Board also gave final approval to three draft resolutions which committees had passed late last week, including one to delay destruction of the remaining known stocks of smallpox virus, committing to review the situation by 2002 at the latest.

**Millennium Assembly

We've been telling you about a series of hearings that will be held in advance of next year's Millennium Assembly to gather views from a broad spectrum across the world. The first set of hearings took place over the weekend in Beirut, with the participation of representatives of both government and civil society. Many stressed the need for the United Nations to redefine its role in today's changing world. More details are available in a press release upstairs.

**United Nations Children's Fund

Also, here we have from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) the news that it's encouraged to note the formation by the Government of the Sudan of the Committee for the Eradication of Abductions of Women and Children. We understand from their representative in Khartoum that discussions are ongoing between the Sudanese Government and members of the international community to develop a detailed workplan enabling work to proceed as quickly as possible and in a manner that is both thorough and transparent.

**Food and Agricultural Organization

I have lots of notes here from the different agencies -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today that huge stocks of dangerous obsolete pesticides in Africa and the Near East are a "time-bomb" threatening human and environmental health. In a press release issued out of Rome, the FAO said that disposing of pesticides is hazardous because the containers are often leaking or corroding. The agency is urging members of the chemical industry to contribute money to help the effort to safely remove these pesticides. The press release is available upstairs.

**World Food Programme

Also available upstairs is a press release from the WFP announcing they resumed food deliveries to northern Liberia after last month's hostage-taking. A WFP convoy carrying 77 metric tonnes of food, enough to feed 24,000 people for one week, arrived safely on Sunday in the town of Kolahun in northern Liberia.

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**Law of Sea

States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are meeting today to elect judges of the Law of the Sea Tribunal in Hamburg. Seven judges will be elected to serve nine-year terms on the 21-seat Tribunal. We expect to receive a press release once the elections are over.

**No-Tobacco Day

A few final announcements. A press conference tomorrow, Tuesday, 25 May, on the World No-Tobacco Day Coalition, with: the Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization; the Dean of Yale University School of Medicine and the former Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration; and the New York Yankees commentator and former St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies baseball player, Tim McCarver.

Still on No-Tobacco Day, an invitation which is for all of you, a smoking cessation event will be held on Tuesday, 25 May, at the north-east corner of the United Nations Public Lobby, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Trained counsellors will be on site to provide advice and information on behaviour modification and nicotine replacement to help staff and all interested to quit smoking. There will be booths where you can ask questions or seek advice from cessation counsellors, or you can just pick up information material on the dangers of tobacco. And there it is, an invitation for all of you.

**Staff Assignment

Our colleague Rolando Gomez is off for East Timor. He'll be joining David Wimhurst and the Public Information Team there. He'll be there for three months. And if you have questions on the issues you normally asked him, we will be covering his absence as best as we can, and you can call our general numbers 963-7161 or 62.

Question-and-Answer Session

Question: A couple of questions on East Timor. On the Secretary- General's report, he said that despite security assurances, it's still a tense and volatile situation in East Timor. Does he now feel there might be a necessity for something beyond just a civilian police observer mission, perhaps, even peacekeepers?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, in the report itself there is a reference of his intention to consider military liaisons for the armed forces. But that's all we have.

Follow-up Question: What would they do?

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Deputy Spokesman: They would liaise with the armed forces who are in East Timor. The armed forces have an important role there.

Follow-up Question: When would the 20-day registration period begin?

Deputy Spokesman: That is in the original timetable, which I brought here because I thought you would ask it. It's expected -- the preparation and registration is to go between 13 June and 17 July. The report also says everything is on schedule as of now.

Follow-up Question: When is the Council expected to take up this matter?

Deputy Spokesman: We don't know that yet.

Question: On East Timor, you said on Friday the United Nations didn't have any idea about the move up by one day in the election. Has anything changed?

Deputy Spokesman: We received a letter over the weekend or today from the Indonesians with that proposal. And we're looking at it. But it's certainly something that will have to involve the Portuguese side, as well. And the Secretary-General will also have to discuss it.

Question: On Ian Martin. Is there any background on who he is?

Deputy Spokesman: We'll be getting it. It was on its way when I came down for the briefing.

Question: There was a story that William Eagleton would be the new United Nations envoy or special rep for Western Sahara.

Deputy Spokesman: That's correct. We announced it last week.

Question: There is a book by the former Secretary-General. Did the Secretary-General read it and any comment?

Deputy Spokesman: I don't know if he read it. I don't think the book is out yet. Not for sale yet. But at this time, there's no comment. We have not seen the book.

Question: Regarding the East Timor military liaison, you got what the Security Council will take up as an agenda?

Deputy Spokesman: The Security Council will take the whole report and they will authorize, or not, but hopefully they will authorize the deployment of this mission, taking into consideration the proposals made by the Secretary-General on the different components. But the military liaison is not yet a component, it's just an intention, and he was just alerting the Council that was an intention he has, so that it could be considered.

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Question: Does the Secretary-General meet with Vieira de Mello in Geneva at all, or does he get a personal briefing back here. What's going to happen?

Deputy Spokesman: You mean after the mission is over?

Question: Yes, since I think the Secretary-General will still be in Europe.

Deputy Spokesman: I don't have that yet. I don't know where and when they would be meeting. We don't have that yet, and this was not yet finalized. Okay. There's nothing else? Thank you. Have a nice lunch and a pleasant afternoon.

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